Tuesday, July 3, 2007

WAY Choir 2007

WAY Choir - Western All-State Youth Choir just completed a whirlwind tour of Northern California and Oregon and it was amazing. Today I am going to tell you about their performances, and the next few days I will cover some of the sights and landscapes. The choir and band met at 10 a.m. on a Monday morning and had a 10 hour rehearsal. Towards the end of that first rehearsal, the choir was practicing a praise and worship chorus that talked about the name of Jesus. A spirit of worship entered the room and for the next hour and half, the youth were intensely praying. The traveling pastor (my husband) felt he had a word from the Lord for the choir. In essence, the Word was - wherever your feet land, you will be used mightily. The next day, the choir returned for more practice and that night had their first concert at The Rock Church in Elk Grove, California. You can visit their website at http://www.therockchurch.org/ The choir sang a set of songs, took a break, and during the break a quartet sang. The quartet was comprised of my son Bryce, Tyler Sullivan of Citrus Heights, Lawrence Trump of Eureka, and Keith Smith of San Diego. They sang the old hymn, "Oh What A Savior." I must admit they did a better job then I expected. It was a beautiful rendition that was so dynamic it brought the crowd out of their seats. The choir then returned for a second set of songs. At the conclusion, the front of the auditorium filled with hundreds of young people desiring a closer relationship with the Lord. The next day, we went to Iglesia Centro Vida in Stockton, California. This is a large, bilingual congregation. The choir sang some songs in Spanish and repeated the format from the previous night. This service ended with a few baptisms and several people giving their heart to God. The hospitality of this church was awesome. They had rooms reserved at a beautiful hotel for the entire choir. The night was short, however, because the youth had to be at the bus by 5 a.m. to travel to Coos Bay, Oregon. We arrived in Coos Bay at Landmark Church just in time to set up sound, instruments, and a short sound check before service began. This was a very small church and we all felt our ministry there was the "mission" of this tour. The church had a new pastor and he was so thrilled by the response of his congregation. Many choir members wept the entire concert. Truly, it was a most touching performance. The next day we traveled to Portland, Oregon, Apostolic Worship Center. The concert in Portland was held at a large church and people came from Washington and California to be at this performance. Many people gave their hearts to God at this concert and it was a dynamic night. Unfortunately, while the choir was singing someone got in to the rooms where the choir had left their belongings and all their money was stolen. The total was over $2200 and the young people were left penniless. We felt devastated, but the youth joined together and prayed for whoever committed this crime. The next day, the director gave them enough money to eat on while we traveled to Eureka, California. We arrived in Eureka at Full Gospel Tabernacle with only 30 minutes to set up for the service. This concert began and it just seemed as though there wasn't any spirit or energy present, but it wasn't long before a wave of God's presence washed over the crowd. We were later told that more than 20 people had returned to God after being away for many years. In the middle of this service, the pastor told his congregation of the robbery in Portland and stated he wanted his church to reimburse the youth what had been stolen from them. The congregation responded and not only gave enough to restore the money the youth had lost, but also gave a very nice offering to the WAY Choir. Just amazing how God's people respond to need! The next day we traveled to Redding, California First United Pentecostal Church for the final performance of this tour. There were some technical difficulties with the sound when we first arrived, but that was quickly resolved just in time. Miracles, signs, and wonders happened at this finale. The service lasted nearly four hours and it was nothing short of miraculous. At the conclusion, a spirit of sacrificial giving swept through the building and people were bringing, shoes, ties, belts, shirts, money, etc. to the altar. There was over $10,000 cash put on the altar that night. This facility is crowded and the congregation is negotiating to gain a new place - so this offering was greatly needed. Before the choir left that night, the pastor treated everyone to dinner at a local restaurant. Everyone loaded in to the bus for the final drive back to Sacramento. We arrived in Sacramento about 1 a.m. Everyone was exhausted yet euphoric at the same time. My husband and I have traveled for many years with different groups of young people all around the world, but we both agreed we have never been with such a spiritual group of young people. Many members of the choir were used mightily by God. I don't have enough time to tell all the stories, but here's one - a choir member left the stage and walked to the back of the auditorium and layed hands on two people. The people began to pray and felt the presence of God sweep over them. We later learned that the two people had been "away" from God for more than ten years, but because of the sensitivity of this young choir member they were restored. Nearly everyday the choir would begin singing on the bus and they would end up praying, testifying, and worshipping. Even the bus driver would drive with one hand on the wheel and the other lifted toward heaven as he prayed with the young people. I must close for now because I am exhausted, but check back for more. (The pictures are: Top-the choir at The Rock Church, middle left-Anthony of Arroyo Grande, middle right-Sara of American Canyon, bottom left-Bryce and choir in Portland, bottom right-Nicole of San Bernardino.)

Jana, Sounds AWESOME!!! Thank God for young people that are sold out to Jesus Christ. And thank God for people like you and your husband that take the time to go on tour with young people and be a blessing and inspiration to them.Blessings to you today. Have a great 4th.Love you!www.iluv2prshim.wordpress.com

Ronda - Brian and I so enjoy hanging out with our young people. We came by it honestly. My Dad worked Sr. Camp even after he retired. I love our kids and I am not one bit worried about the church of tomorrow. These kids have real, strong love for God. I hate it when people criticize them and make comments such as how worried they are about the next generation. God's church will never be defeated and that means these young people will be the next to operate churches greater than ever. Okay - off my soapbox. :)

Helen - so true. It was very rewarding, but exhausting. We got home to move everything out of my Mom's house to have new carpet put in. We finished taking everything out today and the carpet layers wil be here in the morning. I wish I could just have a few hours nap, but that doesn't look feasible for at least another week. Oh well! I am job-rated! LOL

Jana, I am with you 110%. I am excited about our future with the young people that are coming on. I see the hand of the Lord on them in a mighty way! I'm glad people like your dad and mine didn't give up on us when we were young people. Okay, off my soap box too. LOL

Thank you for these exciting reports! I love to hear about the Youth working in the Kingdom of God. I agree with you and Ronda. Our Youth are ON FIRE! They are going to rock their world as they grow up with their eyes on Jesus. My son and his friend are, at this moment, in Florida at Matt Maddix's Soulwinners Bootcamp. Last Tuesday night, Bro. Hurst gave five young men (new preachers he is training in our church) his pulpit. They each preached for ten minutes and tore it up! The church of tomorrow will be the greatest yet! If we adults encourage and mentor the youth with all of our hearts and give them the chance they deserve, there's no stopping the great "latter rain" that is going to fall! Woo! I'm so excited! Love you and thanks for your hard work with the kids! God bless you.

Ronda and Tena - we are on the same page!!! I have to pray through sometimes over people being critical of today's young people. We (speaking of our district) have awesome young people of whom I am very proud.

Wow! What an awesome trip and annointed choir! Glad you all were blessed with God's presence. Sorry about the robberies. I hope and pray that whoever did it will repent and turn to God. Thank you for sacrificing your time and energy to be a part of this.

Thank you for joining the WAY Choir tour again this year. It was a blessing to have you and your family along with us. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything and it was definitely something I won't ever forget. I truly believe all the relationships formed on this tour will be for a lifetime! God is SO awesome, and I'm thankful everyday that I was able to experience such a great opportunity! I love you guys so much, and thanks again for the support you gave us!

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Meet Jana

Born in 1960, you can say she's a boomer. She's married to the love of her life, Brian, who is also her pastor, mom to three gorgeous kids, and wears many different "hats." Her personal passion is singing and she recorded her first CD which was released February 2007. You can hear clips at her website, www.janaallard.com.